vidual who corresponds thus with Evgenie Pavlovitch, and who
engages so much of his attention and respect, is Vera Lebedeff. We have
never been able to discover clearly how such relations sprang up.
Of course the root of them was in the events which we have already
recorded, and which so filled Vera with grief on the prince's account
that she fell seriously ill. But exactly how the acquaintance and
friendship came about, we cannot say.

We have spoken of these letters chiefly because in them is often to be
found some news of the Epanchin family, and of Aglaya in particular.
Evgenie Pavlovitch wrote of her from Paris, that after a short and
sudden attachment to a certain Polish count, an exile, she had suddenly
married him, quite against the wishes of her parents, though they had
eventually given their consent through fear of a terrible scandal.
Then, after a six months' silence, Evgenie Pavlovitch informed his
correspondent, in a long letter, full of detail, that while paying his
last visit to Dr. Schneider's establishment, he had there come across
the whole Epanchin family (excepting the general, who had remained in
St. Petersburg) and Prince S. The meeting was a strange one. They
all received Evgenie Pavlovitch with effusive delight; Adelaida and
Alexandra were deeply grateful to him for his "angelic kindness to the
unhappy prince."

Lizabetha Prokofievna, when she saw poor Muishkin, in his enfeebled and
humiliated condition, had wept bitterly. Apparently all was forgiven
him.

Prince S. had made a few just and sensible remarks. It seemed to Evgenie
Pavlovitch that there was not yet perfect harmony between Adelaida and
her fiance, but he thought that in time the impulsive young girl would
let herself be guided by his reason and experience. Besides, the recent
events that had befallen her family had given Adelaida much to think
about, especially the sad experiences of her younger sister. Within six
months, everything that the family had dreaded from the marriage with
the Polish count had come to pass. He turned out to be neither count
nor exile--at least, in the political sense of the word--but had had to
leave his native land owing to some rather dubious affair of the past.
It was his noble patriotism, of which he made a great display, that
had rendered him so interesting in Aglaya's eyes. She was so fascinated
that, even before marrying him, she joined a committee that had been
organized abroad to work for the res